The IP telephony system will help the Construction Company save costs, improve communications across their global offices and enhance productivity

Introduction
Odebrecht is a Brazilian business conglomerate with international standards of quality. Founded in 1944, the Group is present in South America, Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 2006 the Group had recorded revenues of US$ 13.4 billion.

Odebrecht has vast experience in building airport terminals, bridges, thermal and hydroelectric power plants, steel mills, naphtha crackers, roads, railways, seaports and airports, mining ventures, offshore platforms, and basic sanitation and irrigation systems. Present for over 25 years in countries outside Brazil, including South America, Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Odebrecht is the largest Engineering & Construction company in Latin America and Brazil’s leading service exporters.

The Challenge
Odebrecht was using normal PBX infrastructure that supported a limited number of users. The company had to incur huge costs in telephone bills for communication between its branches and its headquarters in Brazil. “Odebrecht has offices worldwide and we have to make international calls to our global offices on everyday. We were looking for an IP Telephony system which would help us improve our communications, reduce telephone bills and increase productivity. Emirates Computers recommended Cisco’s IP Telephony system to meet our requirements. After evaluating other vendors, we found thant Cisco’s solution best suited our needs as it was easy to use and our staff did not require any special training,” says Mr. Érico Approbato, Regional IT Manager of Odebrecht.

The Right Partner
When Odebrecht decided to replace its legacy phone infrastructure with IP telephony to keep pace with its operational expansion, it turned to Emirates Computers.

“We chose Emirates Computers for this project because they showed us that they had the knowledge, skills and experience in deploying similar projects in the region. Emirates Computers spent time understanding our requirements and came up with a design which not only addressed our needs but was also competitively priced. Their staff was very professional and implemented the project in record time. Emirates Computers trained our IT staff familiarizing them with the system configuration just in case the need arises. We are very satisfied with Emirates Computers’ services and with the IP Telephony system and its benefits,” Mr. Approbato added.

The IP Telephony replaced the normal PBX infrastructure that supported a limited number of users. Odebrecht now has 30 users and this number continues to grow. The Cisco IP Telephony solution is meant to specifically address connectivity needs for around 60 users with remote connections with Mussaffah and Dubai regions and Republic of Djibouti (Africa). The objective was to reduce the at least 25% cost of the telephone bills between the branches and international phone calls between UAE, Brazil, Djibouti and USA. The project commenced in March 2007 and ended by the 10th of April 2007.

While the customer has been consulting Emirates Computers on what they should buy, Cisco on their part has provided strong support during the implementation and commissioning of this project, besides the fact that all the building blocks of the solution are from Cisco.

Unified Communications is a booming technology and enterprise as well as SMB customers are beginning to realize the cost benefits that their deployments will bring them. In addition, productivity is also bound to go up. Cisco’s Unified Communications system is a full-featured communications system built into an intelligent IP network that enables voice, data, and video communications for businesses of all sizes. For Emirates Computers, already one of the foremost system integrators in the region and a leading Cisco partner, this will indeed become one of the strong focus areas in the near future.

“We are pleased that Odebrecht trusted us with this prestigious project and accepted our design and recommendations. With solid support from Cisco, we were able to complete the project well before the deadline,” said Mr. Dani Diab , Vice president & General Manager - Abu Dhabi - Emirates Computers. “We chose Cisco’s Unified Communication Technology for this project as it is the latest and best technology which will replace normal and digital PBX soon. Using the data network for the voice connection and unifying the cabling system as a first step, makes the solution better and helps the customer save time and costs.”

The Results
The Cisco IP telephony system is centralized and saves Odebrecht the trouble of daily maintenance at all their branches. In addition to saving costs on expensive international telephone calls, the company, in the long run, also does not need to upgrade any aspect of the network even when the business grows further and the number of employees increase.